New Madison County amphitheater opening with free ceremony on Friday

MADISON COUNTY, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — The finishing touches are being put in at the Vine Amphitheater at Chenault Vineyards before its opening on Friday. The ribbon cutting and celebration will be free to the public.

“Between the exhaustion and the excitement, we cannot wait for people to be here and to experience it and to enjoy it,” said Christina Pennington, general manager at Chenault Vineyards.

The Vine has a 4,000-person capacity with beautiful scenery. The amphitheater takes advantage of the landscape and incorporates Kentucky culture, as the main entrance involves walking through a barn into the venue.

“It’s unexpected,” said Samantha Ballard, who works in marketing at Chenault Vineyards. “You pull around that corner over there and you walk up here and you’re like, ‘Oh wow, I didn’t know that this was back here.’”

“My favorite detail about the venue is the love behind it,” Pennington added. “It’s a passion and a love for our community, and our dad being an entrepreneur, and we’re just along for the ride.”

Pennington and Ballard are sisters, and their dad had the vision for this venue. The idea for this kind of an amphitheater came when Chenault Vineyards started hosting musicians for Vibe in the Vines.

“Our first Vibe in the Vines was Sundy Best, and it was about 750 people,” Pennington said. “It was great, but it was just more of a festival out in the field. We didn’t have a permanent structure to have live shows in.”

This Friday, the Vine will officially open with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Gates open at 3 p.m. The ceremony is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

After the ribbon cutting, guests will be treated to performances by Lost Saints and Rebecca Lynn Howard. Admission is free.

“It’s been three years in the making and I don’t think excitement covers it,” said Ballard. “I think that it’s a much bigger emotion than that, just super proud and ready for it to be here.”

“We want everyone to come out,” Pennington said. “We want you to see it and just feel the beauty of it when you walk through the gates.”

There are already three shows on the schedule at the Vine at Chenault Vineyards. Big Daddy Weave is the first, scheduled for June 21. The Band Perry is set for Aug. 28, and Exile is scheduled on Sept. 18.